COMMITMENT 20-14 TONIGHT... MISSISSIPPI'S PHOTO SCANDAL IN THE RACE FOR THE U.S. SENATE MAKING NATIONAL HEADLINES. CLARION LEDGER POLITICAL REPORTER SAM HALL APPEARED ON MSNBC THIS MORNING TALKING ABOUT THE RACE. AND AS 16 WAPT'S BERT CASE REPORTS... SENATOR THAD COCHRAN SPOKE OUT PUBLICLY TODAY , FOR THE FIRST TIME, SINCE THE SCANDAL BROKE. SENATOR COCHRAN SEEMED RELAXED AND CONFIDENT AS HE STEPPED OFF OF HIS CAMPAIGN BUS ON LAKELAND DRIVE TO SPEAK TO A REAL ESTATE GROUP. THE SENATOR WAS GREETED BY TWO REPORTERS WHO WANTED TO KNOW HIS OPINION OF THE IMPACT OF THE PHOTO INCIDENT ON HIS RACE FOR RE-ELECTION. IT'S AN UNFORTUNATE, SORT OF BIZARRE INCIDENT, BUT IT'S BEING HANDLED BY THE AUTHORITIES AND I TRUST IN THEIR GOOD JUDGMENT. THE SYSTEM IS WORKING WITH OTHERS WHO WERE INVOLVED, THE NURSING HOME PEOPLE ARE WORRIED, YOU KNOW, ABOUT THE IMPACT IT MIGHT HAVE ON THEIR REPUTATION, BUT I THINK EVERYBODY IS DOING THE RIGHT THING. ASKED ABOUT THIS RACE BECOMING THE NASTIEST IN THE COUNTRY COCHRAN HAD THIS RESPONSE. I THINK THAT'S AN EXAGGERATION. OUR PARTNER COVERING POLITICAL EVENTS, SAM HALL, POLITICAL REPORTER FOR THE JACKSON CLARION LEGER WAS INTERVIEWED ABOUT THE RACE ON MSNBC FRIDAY MORNING. I THINK IT'S BOUND TO HAVE HURT MCDANIEL, SLOWED HIS MOMENTUM DOWN. AH I THIN HE PROBABLY HAD SOME NEW POLLS, I SAW SOME OF THOSE THAT WERE RELEASED AND I AM NOT CONFIDENT OF THEIR VALIDITY, BUT I THINK HEARING PEOPLE FROM BOTH CAMPS TALK, ABOUT POLL NUMBERS, IT SEEMED THAT MCDANIEL WAS STARTING TO PICKUP MORE STEAM, BUT I CAN'T HELP BUT BELIEVE THIS HAS REALLY SLOWED HIM DOWN AND COST HIM POINTS AS WELL. SO THE POLITICAL REPORTER FOR THE JACKSON CLARION LEDGER SAM HALL BELIEVES THE PHOTO SCANDAL HAS SLOWED THE MCDANIEL CAMPAIGN. BERT CASE SIXTEEN WAPT NEWS IN DOWNTOWN JACKSON. IN RESPONSE TO THE PHOTO SCANDAL... THE MISSISISPPI TEA PARTY RELEASED